IT was a warm, humid afternoon but Pablo Pressac exuded coolness, despite the beads
of sweat glistening on his forehead. He and fellow Chilean José Tomás Cansino, Southeast Asia regional manager for Concha y Toro, had just walked in late into a roomful of wine enthusiasts, hotel and restaurant executives and journalists, all signed up for the wine master class organized by Fly-Ace Corp., the importer of Concha y Toro wines in the Philippines.
As wine ambassador for Concha y Toro, Pressac comes with solid credentials: an Advanced Qualification award from the London-based WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust); experience in the wineries of Chile’s Casablanca and Maipo Valley, as well as experience as a professional sommelier.
This was his first time to do a master class in Manila, and the occasion merited the tasting of Concha y Toro’s icon wines and a six-course wine dinner afterward at Café Ysabel.
Is it okay not to use the microphone? Perhaps the issue was not so much the microphone (that was underperforming) but the tone that Pressac wanted to set for his class—casual and informal. The venue itself, the lower floor of Chef Gene Gonzalez’s culinary school, Center for Asian Culinary Studies, provided the laid-back atmosphere.
A glass-walled wine cellar (Chef Gene’s) was the centerpiece of the space. Cooking classes were going on in the two kitchen laboratories at one end of the room. There was the savory smell of baking pizza coming from a wood-burning oven tucked in one corner. It was against this backdrop that we learned about—and tasted—the top-tier wines of Concha y Toro: Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon, Marques de Casa Concha Merlot, Don Melchor and Carmin de Peumo.
Shouldn’t we taste the Merlot first? But it was the Marques Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 that was poured ahead. The reason became evident when we tasted the Merlot 2012—the Cabernet Sauvignon was distinctly silkier than the rough-edged Merlot, making the latter seem somehow heavier. There was a moment of quiet when Don Melchor 2012 (93-percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 7-percent Cabernet Franc) was poured. This was, after all, Concha y Toro’s flagship wine, a consistent high scorer with wine critics since its first vintage in 1987. “Tart black fruit, cedar, rich mocha, eucalyptus” and “silky, long, lingering dark mocha finish”—my notes read. This wine is another sensational keeper.
I was still recovering from the Don Melchor when it was time for the Carmin de Peumo Carmenère 2010. Intense purple-blue. Ripe black fruit. Milk chocolate. Graphite. Long, lingering dark espresso finish.
The wine was astounding. Outstanding. The Carmin, critics say, may just be the greatest of Carmenères.
More wine flowed at dinner. The pairings were spot-on, from the ceviche with the Casillero Sauvignon Blanc 2015, to the caldereta de cabrito and the Marques Cabernet Sauvignon.
Pressac kept up a running commentary of the wines. The master class had not ended but had segued seamlessly into an exercise in food-and-wine pairing. Here’s a tip, he said, over the pan-fried tenderloin and the Don Melchor 2012.
Forks paused in midair and ears strained to hear every word. The 2012 vintage is one of the best for the Marques Cabernet Sauvignon.
I had no doubt that those within earshot would have placed their orders by now.